Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Tuesday Talk-Time - Why I Read Romance

The Pink Heart Society is delighted to welcome another Romance SuperFan as one of our columnists - Desere Steenberg. Today she tells us just what it is about romance that makes her heart beat that little bit faster...

Hello
from a gorgeous sunny South Africa! First off I would like to thank the lovely
ladies of PHS for inviting me to be a part of their amazing family.

Now
you’re probably wondering who exactly I am and why I'm here, well the answer is
a simple one, I'm a romance reading addict! Since
the age of seven I have always had my nose glued to the inside of a book, at
first it was children’s reads of course, (What were you thinking, romance?
Hello I was only seven!). Following tales of puppies and fairies were the history books, mystery, psychological
thrillers, suspense and paranormal books. No matter the book, it always came
down to one thing:

While my friends were out partying, you could find me engaged in a good
book.

Then
came the day I moved up from small town library to big city library and on my
first visit, as I entered the door, the cover of a book in the romance section
caught my eye. The title was a Mills & Boon Modern, Willingly Bedded Forcibly
Wedded by Melanie Milburne. I walked over, picked it up, read the blurb
and two weeks later I had read over twenty five romance books.

I was hooked and
I've never been able to stop!

You get the history, the suspense, the
action-whatever you feel like reading!-and all of life’s twists and turns along the way. What’s not to love about having
everything you love within one genre?

When
I step into the pages of a romance it offers me an escape from everyday
life. It transports me to a whole new world , where the characters become real
and I get to see inside their minds. Nothing is hidden, whereas in real life,
human nature blocks all of that out and, at times, seems less real.

Many say romance
books aren't like real life, but to me they truly do feel real. When I'm reading, I climb inside the book and live every single emotion of each
character.

But more than anything, I love romance because it lets me live
a thousand lives, experience a million emotions and best of all I get to fall
in love over and over again!

Why do you read romance? Is it for the escapism it offers or is there a thrill or natural high you get when picking up a romance by your favorite author? Do you imagine yourself as the heroine, walking in her shoes or fantasize about the hero and wish he was real? What about the emotional roller-coaster? Do you prefer a romance which makes you laugh or cry, swoon or sigh, or a combination of all the above? Let us know!

12 comments:

Loved that I think you and I think the same :) I have been reading since I was a kid and when i found romance I too have never looked back I totally lose myself in the story I laught I cry and I smile I bite my nails with the suspense and travel the world back in time and into the future but I always end up smiling in the end. I love your reviews and I am sure we have read a lot of the same books

I read widely, and always have - but whatever I'm reading, there just has to be a love element in it or I lose interest. My very favourite books are ones that make me laugh at some point, with a sassy heroine, and a hero who has no idea what's happening to him as he's falling in love!

For me it's watching the development of relationships, the 'will they won't they' and knowing that you're guaranteed a happily ever after, or at least a happily for the time being.I love most genres but when I'm feeling a bit down I'll usually reach for something with a good spot of romance.

Great post, Desere - you're a wonderful ambassador for the genre! I read widely, but the thing I love about romance books is the way I feel at the end. A well-written HEA never fails to uplift my mood and put a big smile on my face.

I definitely read romance, and category romance in particular. That's how I came to write it too. Thanks for sharing with us. I'm amazed at the story of how you came to read so many books when you first found romance. Wow!

So awesome to have you here Desere! And I totally get what you're saying. For me it was picking up a Sandra Marton book in the grocery store after a brutal week of work and rediscovering my love of romance. It was like being transported to another world. I never wanted it to stop!